Improved Outcomes in Prediabetes, T2D With Liraglutide

HealthDay News — For obese individuals with prediabetes or early type 2 diabetes, liraglutide is associated with a greater reduction in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and greater improvement in β-index, according to a study published online in Diabetes Care.

Francesca Santilli, from the Center of Aging Science and Translational Medicine in Chieti, Italy, and colleagues randomized 62 metformin-treated obese subjects with prediabetes or newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes to liraglutide or lifestyle counseling.

The researchers found that the reduction in VAT was significantly higher in the liraglutide versus the lifestyle counseling arm (P =.028) after comparable weight loss, achieved by 20 patients per arm, and superimposable glycemic control, as reflected by HbA1c level, which was accompanied by greater improvement in β-index (P =.021). There were no differences in reduction of subcutaneous adipose tissue (P =.64). With liraglutide administration only there was a significant increase in insulin-like growth factor-II serum levels (P =.024), and the increase correlated with a decrease in VAT (P =.056) and an increase in the β-index (P =.012).

“Liraglutide effects on visceral obesity and β-cell function might provide a rationale for using this molecule in obese subjects in an early phase of glucose metabolism dysregulation natural history,” the authors write.

Disclosures: One author disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

Reference

Santilli F, Simeone PG, Guagnano MT, et al. Effects of liraglutide on weight loss, fat distribution, and β-cell function in obese subjects with prediabetes or early type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2017’40(11):1556-1564. doi:10.2337/dc17-0589